Then, on to Mihara, only to realize that otherwise ideal boat ride to Okunoshima, that passes by Imabari shipyard operates only on weekends. So, plan B was to take a ferry to Setoda, and then take a cab ride around the island Takaneshima overlooking Imabari shipyard, which was the next best thing, even if a bit expensive one.

There was that usual set of K Line container vessels, together with a glimpse of the first magenta-colored one of Imabari design.

I was so excited to take as many photos as possible of the first magenta one, that I forgot that there was yet another one under construction in a dry dock right next to it; but I remembered to check the other dock, where the "One Aquila" was being assembled.

Then, a train ride back to Hiroshima, followed by a shinkansen to Hakata. My pass ticket covered my trip only to Hakata, so I proceeded to Nagasaki by bus. Where there is no ultra-high-speed train network in Japan, it makes sense to travel by bus, as the prices are roughly half of the train ticket, and travel times are same.

Also, one “Costa” cruising vessel was at the cruise ship terminal, but we already have too many of her photos here on this site. So, taxi ride towards Koyagi ward, to look at whatever was going on at Mitsubishi yard there. There were some new LNG carriers of a new design, for DGI and NYK:

Then, a 1.5 hrs bus ride to Sasebo, and a ferry ride to Oshima island, to see the local shipyard.

Let me digress a little bit here. In my previous, happier times I would go on a tour around local shipyards in Korea, which would take a better part of day, to see shipyards in Sacheon (SPP), Tongyeong (SPP x 2, Sungdong, Shin A), Goseong (SPP, STX) and Changwon/Jinhae (STX), with dozens of ships under construction there. Now, there’s (almost) nothing left. All SPPs are closed. Sungdong has nothing going on, as well as STX in Goseong, while STX at Jinhae is barely showing some signs of life. So, I was pleasantly surprised to see that the Japanese shipyards of similar sizes still have orders.

That's a good question. Yards are obviously major industrial facilities that are neither easy nor quick to set up; therefore, infrastructure may remain in place for some time after yard's closing.As for SPP specifically, their outfitting facility at Tongyeong is completely dismantled (cranes and floating piers are gone); Sacheon and Goseong yards look just mothballed.

It's not like Sungdong, whose block fabrication facility in Masan was mostly eradicated and the area redeveloped, with its 700-ton crane sold for scrapping at a fraction of its original price.

Thanks Vlad, obviously these relative newcomers in Korean shipbuilding did not get the suppport that the big three (Daewoo, Hyundai and Samsung) always seem to have enjoyed. STX will also probably go down permanently.

Thanks Vlad, obviously these relative newcomers in Korean shipbuilding did not get the suppport that the big three (Daewoo, Hyundai and Samsung) always seem to have enjoyed. STX will also probably go down permanently.